Wednesday, January 28, 2009
MY MOM IS AMAZING!!!
My mom is absolutely wonderful! For years now I've made many a friends jealous with my unbeatable care packages. Starting in University she would send something for my entire floor. I thought she had outdone herself when she sent jujube Christmas candy trees but this time she has really done it! I arrived home from my year in Korea to find that she had scrapbooked my entire year. She took all my pics off of my picasa and turned then into two absolutely beautiful scrapbooks. Although, I wanted to bring them with me to Korea and everywhere I go from here on in, the planes won't let me because of their weight! So, I (actually, my Mom helped me as I was packing to come back to Korea) took pictures of it so I could put them up here. I didn't have time to put them all up but you can go to my picasa if you want to see them all. She takes the cake this woman! I love her to pieces!
Monday, January 19, 2009
My Adventures in Korea! (Part 1)
I've been really wanting to write a summary of my year in Korea, however, it's taken me a long time to actually take the time to do it! So much time has passed that now I'm back here!
Better late then never eh?!?!
I've compiled a list of my greatest experiences in the land of the morning calm. I can't seem to pick my number one experience as they have all been so special so here they are in no particular order:
DJ festival weekend: The Seoul DJ festival was a great musical experience. I got to dance under the stars and in the rain. It was the first time I ever spun fire in public and also the first time I heard live Korean music. One of the bands I was exposed to is a great Korean band called 'Windy City'. It was the first good round of live music I got to see in my year!
Gosapo beach camping: All the camping that I experience in Korea was great. Gosapo beach sticks out in my mind. My wicked friend Chris went out on a limb and decided we should check around an ocean bend and boom! There was a deserted beach with our name on it! It was so nice and relaxing plus we had a group of a bout 10 people there to enjoy it with. I got do some beach yoga, walk in Maria's labyrinth, watch as the boys decided to find the biggest pieces of wood they could possible carry and watch the tides coming in and out. I learned all about hermit crabs and very cool little eco-systems!
Bigeum-do camping: OK, so I thought that Gosapo stuck out specifically but so does Biguem-do. This was my first camping experience in Korea. On a wimb (most things for me in Korea were just trial and error), we met up with some other foreigners from Mokpo and jumped on their camping band wagon. It was a great idea! We took a slow ferry to this island and it was paradise! Our taxi ride from the ferry to the site was along the beach. The people we met were wicked and the people I went with will be friends for the rest of my life. I'll never forget being 5 waygooks in a 5 man Korean tent! I thought I was going to be ill so I had to move around a lot to get comfy and so I yelled 'alright everyone, SPOON RIGHT!!!' and quite literally everyone spooned right! So good!
Morave festival: This festival claimed to be on a desesrted beach on the west coast of Korea. After a very long bus ride we ended up at a beach that was densly populated with Korean families. Much to our surprise we were litrally sandwiched between families! This picture describes the way Sarah and I felt:
It was a bit hard to stay positive after the bus ride, but after a few glasses a wine and some conversations with the organizers we soon realized that this was going to work out just perfectly. I ended up doing all the things I truly love doing- dancing, swimming, chatting with amazing people, spinning fire, getting my face painted, trying out a new instrument (didgeridoo), and many more groovy fun things!
Korean culture in general: Being that Korea was my first country to travel in Asia many of the cultural differences contributed to my favourite times. The 3-4 hellos I got when riding or walking down the road (sometimes small children would chase me down the road yelling 'How are you?'). The food in general has been great. Bibimbap and side dishes are my favourite! The Bus system! You can get anywhere in Korea very easily and for such a reasonable price. As well the cost of food is so cheap!
JAPAN!!!!! I can't even say enough about my trip to Japan. It was mind blowing, spirit lifting and all around fantastic! The Zen gardens, Tokyo, the Fuji Rocks festival and much much more!
My new found friends: The people I met in Gwangju and in Seoul will forever hold a special part of my heart. In no particuliar order they are- Jenny, Sarah, Chris, Lindsay, Whit, Maria, Ethan, Jess, Pk, Zoe, Anna, Lucy, Zaid, Prya, Lisa, Catie, Hannah, Anna, Vicky, Jessie, Richard and so many more!!! I know all of our paths will cross again one day and am so happy to have had the opportunity to meet everyone.
My school kids: Although, I found it very challenging and sometime frustrating to teach at my hagwon the kids made it worth it. Yes, they were at times very trying on my nerves but all in all they were great. I feel and hope that most of them learned some English but above all I know they had fun while learning. I"m happy that I could bring some fun into a society where school can sometimes be very tough!
Project Warm Hands: This amazing group was started by one of the coolest people I've ever met, Hannah. She decided she wanted a group where both foreigners and Koreans could meet to eat, learn, play and experience each others culture.
I attended many monthly dinners as well as made some really great Korean arts and crafts with the group.
I feel like I missing many moments in this year in review which is great in itself. To many good moments to get them all!!
I can't even believe how much I've learned about the world and myself in one very short year abroad! I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to travel and work in such a great country as South Korea. I look forward to my next steps, stay tuned for Angie's Adventures in NEW ZEALAND! That's all I'm saying.... ;)
Better late then never eh?!?!
I've compiled a list of my greatest experiences in the land of the morning calm. I can't seem to pick my number one experience as they have all been so special so here they are in no particular order:
DJ festival weekend: The Seoul DJ festival was a great musical experience. I got to dance under the stars and in the rain. It was the first time I ever spun fire in public and also the first time I heard live Korean music. One of the bands I was exposed to is a great Korean band called 'Windy City'. It was the first good round of live music I got to see in my year!
Gosapo beach camping: All the camping that I experience in Korea was great. Gosapo beach sticks out in my mind. My wicked friend Chris went out on a limb and decided we should check around an ocean bend and boom! There was a deserted beach with our name on it! It was so nice and relaxing plus we had a group of a bout 10 people there to enjoy it with. I got do some beach yoga, walk in Maria's labyrinth, watch as the boys decided to find the biggest pieces of wood they could possible carry and watch the tides coming in and out. I learned all about hermit crabs and very cool little eco-systems!
Bigeum-do camping: OK, so I thought that Gosapo stuck out specifically but so does Biguem-do. This was my first camping experience in Korea. On a wimb (most things for me in Korea were just trial and error), we met up with some other foreigners from Mokpo and jumped on their camping band wagon. It was a great idea! We took a slow ferry to this island and it was paradise! Our taxi ride from the ferry to the site was along the beach. The people we met were wicked and the people I went with will be friends for the rest of my life. I'll never forget being 5 waygooks in a 5 man Korean tent! I thought I was going to be ill so I had to move around a lot to get comfy and so I yelled 'alright everyone, SPOON RIGHT!!!' and quite literally everyone spooned right! So good!
Morave festival: This festival claimed to be on a desesrted beach on the west coast of Korea. After a very long bus ride we ended up at a beach that was densly populated with Korean families. Much to our surprise we were litrally sandwiched between families! This picture describes the way Sarah and I felt:
It was a bit hard to stay positive after the bus ride, but after a few glasses a wine and some conversations with the organizers we soon realized that this was going to work out just perfectly. I ended up doing all the things I truly love doing- dancing, swimming, chatting with amazing people, spinning fire, getting my face painted, trying out a new instrument (didgeridoo), and many more groovy fun things!
Korean culture in general: Being that Korea was my first country to travel in Asia many of the cultural differences contributed to my favourite times. The 3-4 hellos I got when riding or walking down the road (sometimes small children would chase me down the road yelling 'How are you?'). The food in general has been great. Bibimbap and side dishes are my favourite! The Bus system! You can get anywhere in Korea very easily and for such a reasonable price. As well the cost of food is so cheap!
JAPAN!!!!! I can't even say enough about my trip to Japan. It was mind blowing, spirit lifting and all around fantastic! The Zen gardens, Tokyo, the Fuji Rocks festival and much much more!
My new found friends: The people I met in Gwangju and in Seoul will forever hold a special part of my heart. In no particuliar order they are- Jenny, Sarah, Chris, Lindsay, Whit, Maria, Ethan, Jess, Pk, Zoe, Anna, Lucy, Zaid, Prya, Lisa, Catie, Hannah, Anna, Vicky, Jessie, Richard and so many more!!! I know all of our paths will cross again one day and am so happy to have had the opportunity to meet everyone.
My school kids: Although, I found it very challenging and sometime frustrating to teach at my hagwon the kids made it worth it. Yes, they were at times very trying on my nerves but all in all they were great. I feel and hope that most of them learned some English but above all I know they had fun while learning. I"m happy that I could bring some fun into a society where school can sometimes be very tough!
Project Warm Hands: This amazing group was started by one of the coolest people I've ever met, Hannah. She decided she wanted a group where both foreigners and Koreans could meet to eat, learn, play and experience each others culture.
I attended many monthly dinners as well as made some really great Korean arts and crafts with the group.
I feel like I missing many moments in this year in review which is great in itself. To many good moments to get them all!!
I can't even believe how much I've learned about the world and myself in one very short year abroad! I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to travel and work in such a great country as South Korea. I look forward to my next steps, stay tuned for Angie's Adventures in NEW ZEALAND! That's all I'm saying.... ;)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
My Farewell Party in Gwangju :(
I wrote this post way back in November and never finished it. So, now I'm back and have some time so here it is:
My farewell party in Gwangju was absolutely perfect! I got to do everything that I would have wanted to do before leaving. Hike, play, sing, dance and spend time with awesome people!
The day started with a hike on Muduang Mountain. This mountain is beautiful anytime of the year but on that Saturday is was stunning. Most of the leaves had turned or already fallen off but there was still tonnes of colour contrasts with the dead grass and the green pines. A small group of some of my best friends and I went on the hike. We had such a great time climbing trees, rolling in the long grass and taking wicked funny pics! Not to forget about one of the best parts which was getting a ride on my friend Whit's motorcycle!
For dinner I met up with a big group of my friends and went for my favourite food (shabu shabu, which is actually Japanese). The soju train decided to pick us all up at shabu shabu. My friends Jess and Pk (from England) came down from Seoul for the night. They are this absolutely amazing couple who I'm going to miss to pieces.
In my head I had decided that all I wanted to do was go to a Noraebang (singing room) after dinner. A few peops were resistant to the idea as they were barely hanging on to the soju train and hadn't fully jumped on yet. However, I along with a few others were riding with the conductor all the way!!! CHOOO CHOOOO!!! So, we convinced everyone that the soju train was the best idea. We headed off to this huge Noreabang. The room we ended up getting was wicked! It was like a VIP room with huge long tables. From there things got pretty messy. I went out to buy some more beer and soju but then had forgotten something in the room so went back to Whit having everyone practice the song 'Angie' by the Rolling Stones. At that moment I was hit by such a feeling of dejavu it was wild. At my going away party in Ottawa before I left my amazing friends there also sang me that song and so it was so heart warming to hear all my Korean friends singing it.
It's hard to describe how fun the night was but if I could some it up with a few key points it would be the following:
1-Prya dancing on the table and then jumping off to about 4 glasses smashing, but she didn't notice and kept on going wherever her mission was at that moment.
2- Whit's insistence on playing Angie for the third time (I love you Whit!)
3- Lindsey whispering in my ear 'let's dance on the table to Dancing Queen' to then have about 6 other girls join us and or dancing queen routine turning into the Kan Kan.
4- Sarah's I'm going down down.
5- Chris and I doing Oasis as a reminder of our first noraebang experience together way back in January.
5- Me telling everyone that we need to get the hell out of dodge as we were in the entrance of the norabang because the staff went into the room. The room looked like a bunch of rockstars had just gone through it.
6- Everyone's' drunken smiles of love at the end of the night as we stumbled to find our ways home.
I'm so thankful to have met so many great people in Korea. Upon my first couple weeks in Korea I feared that I would not meet any like minded people. I thought that I would do my year and leave no strings attached. I was wrong, I've made bonds with people that I will cherish forever. Also, the best part about making these bonds is that I will see these people again and it will be in a different part of the world :) :)
My farewell party in Gwangju was absolutely perfect! I got to do everything that I would have wanted to do before leaving. Hike, play, sing, dance and spend time with awesome people!
The day started with a hike on Muduang Mountain. This mountain is beautiful anytime of the year but on that Saturday is was stunning. Most of the leaves had turned or already fallen off but there was still tonnes of colour contrasts with the dead grass and the green pines. A small group of some of my best friends and I went on the hike. We had such a great time climbing trees, rolling in the long grass and taking wicked funny pics! Not to forget about one of the best parts which was getting a ride on my friend Whit's motorcycle!
For dinner I met up with a big group of my friends and went for my favourite food (shabu shabu, which is actually Japanese). The soju train decided to pick us all up at shabu shabu. My friends Jess and Pk (from England) came down from Seoul for the night. They are this absolutely amazing couple who I'm going to miss to pieces.
In my head I had decided that all I wanted to do was go to a Noraebang (singing room) after dinner. A few peops were resistant to the idea as they were barely hanging on to the soju train and hadn't fully jumped on yet. However, I along with a few others were riding with the conductor all the way!!! CHOOO CHOOOO!!! So, we convinced everyone that the soju train was the best idea. We headed off to this huge Noreabang. The room we ended up getting was wicked! It was like a VIP room with huge long tables. From there things got pretty messy. I went out to buy some more beer and soju but then had forgotten something in the room so went back to Whit having everyone practice the song 'Angie' by the Rolling Stones. At that moment I was hit by such a feeling of dejavu it was wild. At my going away party in Ottawa before I left my amazing friends there also sang me that song and so it was so heart warming to hear all my Korean friends singing it.
It's hard to describe how fun the night was but if I could some it up with a few key points it would be the following:
1-Prya dancing on the table and then jumping off to about 4 glasses smashing, but she didn't notice and kept on going wherever her mission was at that moment.
2- Whit's insistence on playing Angie for the third time (I love you Whit!)
3- Lindsey whispering in my ear 'let's dance on the table to Dancing Queen' to then have about 6 other girls join us and or dancing queen routine turning into the Kan Kan.
4- Sarah's I'm going down down.
5- Chris and I doing Oasis as a reminder of our first noraebang experience together way back in January.
5- Me telling everyone that we need to get the hell out of dodge as we were in the entrance of the norabang because the staff went into the room. The room looked like a bunch of rockstars had just gone through it.
6- Everyone's' drunken smiles of love at the end of the night as we stumbled to find our ways home.
I'm so thankful to have met so many great people in Korea. Upon my first couple weeks in Korea I feared that I would not meet any like minded people. I thought that I would do my year and leave no strings attached. I was wrong, I've made bonds with people that I will cherish forever. Also, the best part about making these bonds is that I will see these people again and it will be in a different part of the world :) :)
Friday, November 7, 2008
I see a light shinning bright...country roads take me home :)
Annyong, hello, bonjour,
Well, well, well, what can I say? My time here in Korea is almost over. I'm finding it very hard to believe that I only have 2 weeks left in this wild and wacky country. My feelings are all over the road map as well as my plans. It's taken me 27 years to actually realize and acknowledge that I hate making decisions on what to do with my life's path. I feel like I'm full circle all the time with the old question 'So, Angie what are you going to do after- high school, university, living out west, joining the real world and now Korea'? As I've said to a few people lately, I don't really care what I do as long as I'm happy, and I'm super lucky because for the most part I'm always happy.
The one thing I'm sure of is that I will be landing on Canadian soil on November 26th at midnight! I'm so happy to be going home! For those who I haven't told yet my sister Amy had a beautiful baby girl!!! I knew I would be happy to have a niece or a nephew, but I didn't realize it would be this exciting!!! Not to mention that my other sister Kim will be 7-8 months pregnant while I'm home!
As far as what I've been up to the last month. Well, I've been to Seoul for a drum festival. It was great they had drum groups from around the world performing as well as tonnes of traditional Korean drums out that anyone could play or take a workshop.
As well, I got to play the garbage can with this super cute Korean garbage can band!!! It doesn't sound as cool as it was...honestly!
I've also had the opportunity to participate in Seoul's first ever Zombie Walk! Zombie walk you ask??? Basically, a group of people get together and dress up as zombies and sludge around the city they are in scaring the shit out of people. It was pretty wild! Because Korea doesn't celebrate Halloween people were really shocked to see a group of about 30 zombies approaching them.
I also finally got the chance to go to the ever so famous 'Kimchi Festival'. It was everything you would expect from a kimchi festival. It had kimchi making, kimchie contests, kimchie dolls, a kimchi museum and tonnes of kimchi!
Halloween weekend was also a good friend of mine Chris's 30th birthday. Two of my super good friends came down from Seoul to celebrate. Four of us went as the elements! It was sooooo good! We were earth, wind, fire and water. I being earth was a tree, Anna being water was a sea goddess, Zoe being wind was the mother of air and Sarah was exactly her role- hot, hot fire! I think we could have one some serious prizes if we had tried!! We had a call for each other all night 'Elements Unite!!!' Unfortunately that night saw the death of my third digital camera :(. I'm not sure what the deal is but I can not keep one for long then 6 months! It's turning into an extremely expensive occurence! Therefore, no pics of the halloween night (facebook has lots though).
Well, well, well, what can I say? My time here in Korea is almost over. I'm finding it very hard to believe that I only have 2 weeks left in this wild and wacky country. My feelings are all over the road map as well as my plans. It's taken me 27 years to actually realize and acknowledge that I hate making decisions on what to do with my life's path. I feel like I'm full circle all the time with the old question 'So, Angie what are you going to do after- high school, university, living out west, joining the real world and now Korea'? As I've said to a few people lately, I don't really care what I do as long as I'm happy, and I'm super lucky because for the most part I'm always happy.
The one thing I'm sure of is that I will be landing on Canadian soil on November 26th at midnight! I'm so happy to be going home! For those who I haven't told yet my sister Amy had a beautiful baby girl!!! I knew I would be happy to have a niece or a nephew, but I didn't realize it would be this exciting!!! Not to mention that my other sister Kim will be 7-8 months pregnant while I'm home!
As far as what I've been up to the last month. Well, I've been to Seoul for a drum festival. It was great they had drum groups from around the world performing as well as tonnes of traditional Korean drums out that anyone could play or take a workshop.
As well, I got to play the garbage can with this super cute Korean garbage can band!!! It doesn't sound as cool as it was...honestly!
I've also had the opportunity to participate in Seoul's first ever Zombie Walk! Zombie walk you ask??? Basically, a group of people get together and dress up as zombies and sludge around the city they are in scaring the shit out of people. It was pretty wild! Because Korea doesn't celebrate Halloween people were really shocked to see a group of about 30 zombies approaching them.
I also finally got the chance to go to the ever so famous 'Kimchi Festival'. It was everything you would expect from a kimchi festival. It had kimchi making, kimchie contests, kimchie dolls, a kimchi museum and tonnes of kimchi!
Halloween weekend was also a good friend of mine Chris's 30th birthday. Two of my super good friends came down from Seoul to celebrate. Four of us went as the elements! It was sooooo good! We were earth, wind, fire and water. I being earth was a tree, Anna being water was a sea goddess, Zoe being wind was the mother of air and Sarah was exactly her role- hot, hot fire! I think we could have one some serious prizes if we had tried!! We had a call for each other all night 'Elements Unite!!!' Unfortunately that night saw the death of my third digital camera :(. I'm not sure what the deal is but I can not keep one for long then 6 months! It's turning into an extremely expensive occurence! Therefore, no pics of the halloween night (facebook has lots though).
This past weekend a big group of us headed to a wicked mountain called Naejangson. It's peak season here for the leaves. So, we saw so many beautiful trees with vibrant reds and yellows and then some random bright greens still holding out. It was a really nice relaxed day. What made the day even better was that we had a little baby with us. A new couple has arrived from Canada (Kenora and Thunderbay!) and they have a beautiful little baby boy Kaylex. It was great to have them and their baby along for the trip. 
Usually as foreigners we get a lot of looks and random 'hello's' but this trip we might as well have been Korean. The baby stole the show! It was so funny, people pretty much stopped in their tracks to see the baby. At one point an Ajuma (older Korean lady) came over to where we were sitting and asked to hold the baby. The next thing we knew she had taken the baby back to the circle of Ajumas sitting nearby. It was hilarious and pretty cute!
Usually as foreigners we get a lot of looks and random 'hello's' but this trip we might as well have been Korean. The baby stole the show! It was so funny, people pretty much stopped in their tracks to see the baby. At one point an Ajuma (older Korean lady) came over to where we were sitting and asked to hold the baby. The next thing we knew she had taken the baby back to the circle of Ajumas sitting nearby. It was hilarious and pretty cute!
So, this will probably be my last update before I leave as it's starting to get a bit busy with packing and planning. I'm going to miss everyone here in Gwangju and Seoul so much, but I'll be back for a bit in January and I'm sure that our paths will cross again one day. To everyone at home, put your party pants and hats on I'm coming home :) :) :) !!!!!! 'Country Roads, take me home, to a place where I belong...Summerstown, Glengarry, river valley..take me home'
Peace, love and big big smiles!
Friday, September 26, 2008
A morning with my Yoga Instructor and a Monk
A couple Saturday mornings ago I had the experience of a life time. I've been taking yoga lessons for about 2 months from this amazing Korean woman. At the beginning she only spoke a little English (random words like achilles tendon and fish pose, both of which she learned studying yoga in India). When I joined the class there were 3 foreigners but now there are about 6 of us so she has decided that she wants to learn more English. She is a super fast learner and she can now say all these really important words for yoga like, inhalation, 100 times and my favourite- sphincter up!She has been wanting to take some of the foreigners out to her hometown or to a temple for a while but no one could find a day that worked. So, I ended up just going on my own and it was absolutely amazing.
I was quite worried about the lack of communication, as I know very little Korean and she knows very little English. However, keeping a conversation going wasn't the problem we somehow talked the entire time and I have to admit probably only understood each other for about 25% of the time! It was pretty funny to the both of us.
I met her super early and we headed out to what I knew at the time as a 'Flower Festival'. Korea has many flower festival and you never really know what your getting into. This one was in honour of the 'Spider Lily'. They are these beautiful red flowers that grow like asparagus straight out of the ground without any leaves. In Korea they are known as the heart ache flower because once they lose their flowers and the top falls off they grow their leaves. I don't really get the logic behind it and I feel as though I've lost a lot of it in translation. Nonetheless they are pretty cool looking!
I knew that we were going to a festival and to have lunch with her friend. But, in fact we went to this festival that was at a Temple and then proceeded to have tea with her friend, a monk! When I say we had tea, I mean we officially had a tea ceremonies. It was amazing. The chief element of the Korean tea ceremony is the ease and naturalness of enjoying tea within an easy formal setting...and that's what we did :)
The monk was beautiful and completely relaxed he just exuded this feeling of Zeness. He was sat in the middle of an open window area of a temple like structure and his back was to the mountains. So as I sat there I could see gorgeous mountains. We sat there with him and they chatted in Korean, every once in awhile looking at me as if I should add something because they were talking about me. I just smiled and kept saying thank you. Then she told him that I had a bad back and he immediately grabbed my hand and told me to breath. I did and I focused really hard and I could feel all this wild energy flowing in and out! After that he got up and went around to my back and did all this stuff, once he was finished I had a sigh of relief it was pretty wild!
After our tea ceremonies we took a walk around and headed back down to where the actual festival was happening to watch some of the drumming performance. We left the festival and it seemed like she wanted to take me to this other festival, or maybe it was part of the same, but there was a huge line of cars. So, instead we drove out to the ocean near her hometown (I think) and for a drive around the countryside. It was so nice to be in a car, it's been 9 months since I've been somewhere in car that hasn't been a taxi.
We then went to eat at this special restaurant with tonnes of side dishes! It was so good! She's such a fantastic lady and is so nice to everyone in our yoga class. I'm so happy to have met her and will definitely miss her classes when I leave.
This picture above is taken on one of my many random field trips. It was so cool!!
On the leaving note...I'm about 45ish sleeps away from departure! So wild! I can't believe my contract and year are up. So in saying that, see you soon everyone :) !!!!!
This picture above is taken on one of my many random field trips. It was so cool!!
On the leaving note...I'm about 45ish sleeps away from departure! So wild! I can't believe my contract and year are up. So in saying that, see you soon everyone :) !!!!!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Happy Chuseok and lots more!
Well Hello Everyone!
Last weekend was one of the 2 biggest celebrations in Korea. It's called Chuseok and is basically their Thanksgiving. Unfortunately for everyone the holiday fell on a Sunday so everyone in the entire country only got one day vacation!
(They work way to much in this country)For the vacation I went up to Seoul to meet all my friends from there and head to a beautiful island of the island of Incheon (that's where the International airport is).
We took a fast ferry and where there within an hour. We weren't the only ones with the idea of going to an island though. When we got there we soon found out that almost every English teacher from Seoul was there! Well, maybe I'm exagerating a bit, but still there were more foreigners there then I've seen since I got to Korea. At first it was almost an annoyance that all these foreigners were at the same place, but we found a perfect little camping area and had an amazing time all together.
The highlight of the weekend was meeting a family of Koreans who sat down with us late on Saturday night. We all just sat around drinking soju and talking Konglish, so good!
Most recently it was my friend Sarah's birthday so in her honour we headed back to the beach. I've been to more beaches this past summer then I've ever been to! I love it! It was a great low key weekend :)
Sending big smiles and hugs to everyone back home!!! I've been busy over the past month with lots of great adventures!
Three weeks ago I went to this wicked mountain in the interior of Korea, Songnisan. I went with a group of my friends along with 2 English bloaks who were hear visiting my friend Chris (the guy I went to Japan with). We had a great time! The park was surrounded by 600 year-old pine trees and had many Temples. The most extravagant of the Temples was Beopjusa Temple on Mt. Songnisan. It was built in the 14th year of Silla King Jo-Heung's reign. Here I saw the biggest standing Buddha ever! It was wild, I found it a bit much as it seemed a bit goddy...
After we visited the extravagant statue and Temple grounds we headed up the mountain to find our lodge. We stayed an hour in from the main entrance. It was great we were hiking along a fairly rugged path and then boom there was our little lodge. It was a really beautiful setting with a stream running through the area. 
That night the owners served us up an all veggie dinner which was delicious. The next day we hiked up through temples, streams, beautiful trees to the top of of Songnisan Mountain. The view was amazing and the rock formations were really wild! On the way down we were so hot and sweaty that we found a great stream to swim in and a natural waterslide!!!
The weekend after that was my really good friend Maria's birthday. So we had a birthday bash for her on the rooftop of her and her hubbies apartment. The next day I got up fairly early and headed out for a beach that's only about an hour away from my city. I went with 2 wicked friends and all we did was sit around, sing, drink wine and swim. What I call a perfect Sunday!!
That night the owners served us up an all veggie dinner which was delicious. The next day we hiked up through temples, streams, beautiful trees to the top of of Songnisan Mountain. The view was amazing and the rock formations were really wild! On the way down we were so hot and sweaty that we found a great stream to swim in and a natural waterslide!!!
Last weekend was one of the 2 biggest celebrations in Korea. It's called Chuseok and is basically their Thanksgiving. Unfortunately for everyone the holiday fell on a Sunday so everyone in the entire country only got one day vacation!
(They work way to much in this country)For the vacation I went up to Seoul to meet all my friends from there and head to a beautiful island of the island of Incheon (that's where the International airport is).
We took a fast ferry and where there within an hour. We weren't the only ones with the idea of going to an island though. When we got there we soon found out that almost every English teacher from Seoul was there! Well, maybe I'm exagerating a bit, but still there were more foreigners there then I've seen since I got to Korea. At first it was almost an annoyance that all these foreigners were at the same place, but we found a perfect little camping area and had an amazing time all together.
The highlight of the weekend was meeting a family of Koreans who sat down with us late on Saturday night. We all just sat around drinking soju and talking Konglish, so good!
Most recently it was my friend Sarah's birthday so in her honour we headed back to the beach. I've been to more beaches this past summer then I've ever been to! I love it! It was a great low key weekend :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Mount Mudang Defeated!
